The Pension and Lifetime Savings Association launched three new guides at its annual conference in Liverpool last week.

The three Made Simple guides; Generating Income from Private Markets, Exchange Traded Funds, and Low Volatility Investing, provide what PLSA says is an introduction to these complex areas of investment and pensions management.

The guides are sponsored by BlackRock, iShares, and Acadian, respectively.

Joanne Segars, PLSA chief executive, said at a time when pension schemes face increasing deficits and low returns, the guides offer "straight-forward explanations" on investment options.

She said: "The guides help navigate the current low return environment – helping to get the best return for schemes.

"We greatly appreciate the time, effort and knowledge that BlackRock, iShares and Acadian have put into the creation of them – they will be a great help to our members."

The Income from Private Markets guide will help trustees to get more familiar with asset classes, according to Andrew Stephens, managing director at sponsor, BlackRock.

He said: "In today's compressed return environment, a growing number of pension schemes are looking to generate additional yield by investing in private market assets."

"The guide has been written with that aim in mind and it should be a useful tool to initiate discussions both within the trustee board and with advisers and managers."

Ashley Fagan, head of iShares UK institutional client business, sponsor of the Exchange Traded Funds, and Low Volatility Investing guide, said: "We believe that pension schemes and their stakeholders could benefit from exploring how the index investing landscape has evolved and the potential opportunities this presents."

The Low Volatility Investing Made Simple guide looks at practical implementation considerations of this approach, and how it can fit within both defined benefit and defined contribution pension portfolios.

Oliver Close, director of UCITS funds of Acadian, sponsor of the guide, said: "We believe low-volatility equity strategies are a good fit for a DC pension plan throughout both a member's savings journey and retirement."

First published 27.10.2016

Lindsay.sharman@wilmingtonplc.com